Vine: What did Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward say in frustration at performance against West Brom?
Woodward was spotted in the stands at The Hawthorns and appears to swear at something he sees on the pitch
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The frustration of Manchester United’s performance against West Brom appeared to get the better of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward after it appeared he swore live on TV during the 2-2 draw on Monday night.
United went behind twice during the match but managed to salvage a point thanks to goals from unlikely duo Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind, but it meant that they have taken just 12 points from an available 24 this season.
With United 2-1 down due to goals from Baggies duo Stephane Sessegnon and Saido Berahino, Louis van Gaal’s side were up against it to take something from the trip to the Hawthorns. But it appears that Woodward had already lost all hope.
After West Brom right-back Andre Wisdom – on-loan from Liverpool – fired a shot over the crossbar, the Sky Sports cameras panned to Woodward who was sitting alongside United legend and club director Sir Bobby Charlton.
Watch the clip below...
What he said next is up for debate, but the assumption on social media was that it was neither positive nor clean. The three most common guesses at what he said were:
- “Oh you f*****g waste of money”
- “Oh f*****g hell, what is the point?”
- “Oh f*** off where's he put it?”
Many observers who suggested it was the first option believed Woodward could have been talking about Fellaini, but upon the games proceedings this is unlikely to be the case. The Belgian midfielder finally scored his first competitive goal for the club with a well struck effort just two minutes after coming on for Ander Herrera at half-time, and it was his most influential performance since he made the £27.5m switch from Everton.
Nevertheless, Woodward’s obvious frustrations were shared by Van Gaal, who claimed that United were the better side and deserved to take all three points back north with them.
“It is two points lost,” said Van Gaal after the draw. “I think we were the better team. I am very disappointed about the result.”
Strangely, Van Gaal added that in his eyes West Brom did not create a single chance during the 90 minutes – despite scoring and taking the lead twice.
“I don't think West Bromwich Albion has created many chances, I think zero, and we gave the two goals away,” said a clearly upset Van Gaal at not securing the victory.
“We have created four chances in the first half and seven in the second half. I am happy about our playing style but not happy with the result.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments